U LT I M AT E S T E A K N I G H T Tom McNeeney, Head Chef of The Oxford Pub, Rochdale, shares his tips for a top steak night... Well, now summer has completely gone we all need something to brighten up our evenings and there isn’t much better to look forward to after a long week than a proper steak night! So here’s a few little tweaks you can use to make the fanciest of dinners that little bit more indulgent! THE STEAK: There isn’t a right way or a wrong way when it comes to steak; some people get a bit uppity about people who like theirs well done, others grimace at the thought of a blue steak. All I think is that if you’ve bought it, do what you want with it. But here’s a few tips that I think will help: Whatever steak you choose, ribeye, rump, sirloin, fillet or some outrageous, bone in caveman number, always cook it from room temperature. Season on every side with sea salt and black pepper and a little olive oil. Make sure your pan is good and hot when you place your steak into it, you want to hear it sizzle! Now the trick is to not faff with it, three minutes on each side of an inch thick steak will give you a lovely medium rare steak, about five and a half minutes a side for medium, seven minutes each for medium-well and a cool ten minutes for you well done steak lovers. Once It’s been flipped, throw a few knobs of butter into the pan, some garlic cloves and a sprig of thyme and baste that steak! Yes it’s excessive but you’ll thank me for it! Now, most importantly, you have to take that steak out of the pan, put it onto a warm plate and rest it for at least five minutes. And what you are left with should be, quite possibly, the perfect steak.
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